A well-known Vernon insurance company is changing hands.
And its name.
Barry Amies is announcing the sale of Baron Insurance Broker Group to Westland Insurance Group, which has more than 80 offices throughout B.C. and Alberta.
The two local branches will now be called Westland Insurance.
“We felt the time was right for Baron Insurance to evolve into a larger organization,” said Amies. “In today’s environment there is a lot of pressure to keep on top of all the changes occurring within the insurance industry and the need for a larger organization is critical to doing this successfully.
“We are thankful for all the support the community of
Vernon has provided us over the years and look forward to continue servicing them even better in the future.” Barry Amies, Nicole Amies and Ian Laidlaw, along with all of their staff, will be staying on with Westland Insurance.
Baron Insurance was born in 1968 and grew to 53 employees when they sold to Valley First Credit Union in 1994. In 1999, Landing Insurance was formed by prior Baron Insurance employees and in 2001 they discovered the Baron Insurance name was available to which they rebranded Landing Insurance to Baron Insurance Broker Group and have never looked back.
Currently, Baron Insurance has 37 employees between the two locations in Vernon.
The management and staff of Baron Insurance are excited to welcome and transition their clients to Westland Insurance over the next year.
Westland Insurance president and co-CEO Jason Wubs said Westland Insurance wanted to grow its presence in the North Okanagan, and are excited to have the Baron Insurance team join its organization.
“We feel that having such an established brokerage as Baron Insurance join our team instantly gives us a lot of what we have been looking for,” said Wubs. “Now, as part of Westland Insurance, Baron Insurance will be able to offer even more to clients with expanded capacity, broader underwriting capabilities, and most importantly, claims support unmatched in the industry.”